IRON PATRIOTISM: Venom

One of the best parts about going on vacation is the chance to sample the local cuisine. Mac Gargan’s taking a working vacation in the six-part “Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia” crossover, and for the villain better known as Venom, this gives him the opportunity to dine with (and on) San Francisco's abundant mutant population.

In part two of IRON PATRIOTISM, our look at crossover writer Matt Fraction's take on the Dark Avengers, we speak with him about the Marvel's Sinister Spider-Man, Venom.

Marc Gargan is not the first host for the Venom symbiote, but out of all the people the alien predator has bonded with, Gargan seems to be the one that's most susceptible to its monstrous influence. Fraction believes that's because Gargan is essentially a weak willed individual, and the symbiote he's playing host to is exploiting that fact. “He's like a guy trapped behind the wheel of a car that's out control,” Fraction told CBR News. “Maybe he can steer it a little bit to the left or a little bit to the right but he's got no control over the things brakes, that's for sure.”

Gargan does have some control over the symbiote's feral nature, but not much, and that suits his master, the Dark Avengers leader Norman Osborn, just fine. “He's kind of like Norman in miniature. He's deeply psychotic and barely maintaining a grip,” Fraction stated. “I sort of consider him to be like a trained attack dog. And this story's going to give him an opportunity to come off the leash. And it's exciting because we've never seen him fight the X-Men before.

“In 'Utopia,' there's a little taste of him and Colossus scrapping. Which again was loads of fun because you've never seen it before. Venom versus Colossus is a great fight to write.”

Venom's powers include superhuman strength and agility, the ability to blend in with his surroundings, as well as the ability to create natural weaponry like razor sharp teeth and claws. This makes him a formidable opponent for many of the X-Men, but what truly makes Venom (and many of his fellow Dark Avengers) a dire threat to the mutants is his desire to spill blood. “Venom and the Dark Avengers are going to be spoiling for this fight. They're going to be amped up, hot blooded and ready to go and Venom has no problem using lethal force when the situation calls for it,” Fraction explained. “So you've got the X-Men, a group of people who've trained not to use to their powers to kill. They've gone out of their way to use their powers in a way that doesn't hurt people. And then you've got Venom, a guy who will literally bite your head off! So the battles in this story are a lot of fun to write.”